March 2, 2017
The following rule changes as highlighted below were approved by the CAHA Board of Directors
and shall be in effect for the upcoming 2017/2018 season. The rules, in their entirety, will be
released shortly. The below does not reflect all the changes, only those necessary for
immediate release. Questions can be sent to Youth Council Chairperson, Laura Cahn, via email
at [email protected]
COACHES: All coaches allowed on the bench during games shall appear on the team’s roster
as follows:
a. One coach must be designated as “Head Coach” on the roster. No other person may
be designated as Head Coach if the rostered Head Coach is present on the bench.
b. All other coaches shall be marked as Assistant Coach on the roster. Excluding
student coaches, rosters will be limited to ten (10) coaches.
TEAM ROSTER REGISTRATION FOR NATIONALLY BOUND TEAMS: Tier and High School
rosters must be submitted to the local USA Hockey Associate Registrar and respective CAHA
commissioner for any nationally bound team prior to participation in any sanctioned game,
scrimmage, practice or other on-ice event. These rosters shall be submitted no later than
August 15 of the current playing season. Copies of these rosters must also be submitted to the
respective Commissioners. Additions and deletions shall be submitted on your official USA
Hockey roster via the USA Hockey Portal. Copies may also be required by the appropriate
League (see A/B Roster contact info)..
Member League Clubs are not permitted to form independent teams that solely participate
outside of league play.
FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY:
a. The Leagues shall supply a master list of all league players with outstanding financial
obligations and/or equipment obligations to the CAHA director of member services
prior to May 1st. Players whose names appear on this list will not be permitted to
participate with any Club until their obligations are satisfied. A player with an
outstanding obligation who is permitted to tryout with any club may not hereafter play
for that club during the relevant season.
b. Between April 1st and April 15th, clubs must notify all parents/players in writing of
any club delinquency. Such written notice must be sent by mail or e-mail and contain
a detailed summary of the total amounts owed, paid, and the remaining balance
owed. By April 15, clubs must submit a list of players who are financially delinquent
to the league. These players (and siblings) will be placed on the League delinquency
list and are not permitted to participate in tryouts or any other activities with any club
until their financial obligations have been satisfied. Additionally, CAHA and Pacific
District shall be notified so that the delinquency list is honored for all State and
District activities.
c. Clubs not able to demonstrate that these procedures were followed, or that
notification to the player or league was not made by the deadlines, will be prohibited
from placing the player on the delinquency list. If, in the event of a dispute, it is
discovered these procedures were not properly followed by the Club, the player will
be removed from the delinquency list.
d. Players appearing on league wide delinquency lists may not be rostered on any
CAHA member association’s USA Hockey roster.
e. The regular season shall be August 1 through April 1 unless a player is still
participating in playoffs.
HELMET RULE: All ice hockey coaches and instructors of registered USA
Hockey youth, high school, disabled, girls/women’s 19 & under and below programs must
properly wear an approved ice hockey helmet during all on-ice sessions, including practices,
controlled scrimmages, select camps, try-outs and coaches and referee clinics (seminars) as
defined in the current USA Hockey Annual Guide.
The responsibility for the enforcement of this USA Hockey policy falls to the Affiliate, CAHA.
CAHA delegates the responsibility for reporting policy infractions to all leagues (NORCAL and
SCAHA) and association (clubs) officers throughout the state. CAHA expects all league and
association ACE coordinators; Coaching Directors and Hockey Directors will communicate and
educate their respective association coaches on this policy and sanctions for violations of such.
Each association is encouraged to keep spare helmets available for coaches’ use.
All Student Coaches must wear helmets with a cage on the bench and on the ice.
TRYOUT DATES: Tier I tryouts may begin no earlier than the 2nd Friday of May. Tier II tryouts
may begin no earlier than the 3rd Friday of May and HS/A/BB/B tryouts must be held no earlier
than 4th Friday of May.
MINIMUM ROSTERS:
1. MINIMUM A/B ROSTERS:
a. All registered A,BB and B teams at the 10U and 12U levels must have a minimum
roster of ten (10) skaters including goalies by September 15 of each season to retain
eligibility for California playoffs. If a team rosters more than two (2) goalies, the
additional goalies shall not be counted for purposes of this rule only.
b. All registered A and B teams at the 14u,16u and 18u levels must have a minimum
roster of twelve (12) skaters including goalies by September 15 of each season to
retain eligibility for California playoffs. If a team rosters more than two (2) goalies,
the additional goalies shall not be counted for purposes of this rule only.
c. If a team falls below its minimum player roster requirement after the applicable
deadline, the team will lose its eligibility for California, District and USA Hockey
playoffs. Teams shall have until 12/31 to regain minimum numbers. Failure to do so
may also result in removal from schedule.
2. MINIMUM TIER ROSTERS:
a. All registered Tier I and Tier II teams at the 12U, 14U, 15, 16U and 18U
levels must have a minimum roster of fifteen (15) skaters including goalies by
August 15 of each season to retain eligibility for California, district and USA
Hockey playoffs. If a team rosters more than two (2) goalies, the additional
goalies shall not be counted for purposes of this rule only.
b. If a team falls below its minimum player roster requirement after the
applicable deadline, the team will lose its eligibility for California, district and
USA Hockey playoffs. Teams shall have until 12/31 to regain minimum
numbers. Failure to do so may result in removal from schedule.
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENT (PDR): In order to be eligible for post
season participation, all CAHA registered 12U, 14U, and 16U ‘A’ teams must meet the
minimum Player Development Requirement by September 15 and 12U, 14U, 15 and
16U Tier teams must meet the following minimum Player Development Requirement by
August 15:
a. Said teams must roster a minimum of 25% of its players from within its member
association. Players designated as meeting the PDR requirement on the initial
roster, September 15 for ‘A’ teams and August 15 for Tier I and Tier II teams, must
be actively participating on the subject team as of October 31 of the current playing
season unless injury or illness prevents such participation in which case medical
documentation of the illness or injury must be provided. Failure to provide
documentation shall result in loss of team’s playoff eligibility.
b. Any team that falls below its Player Development Requirement will have until
December 31 to replace their Player Development Requirement to maintain their
postseason eligibility. Any player designated as meeting the PDR requirement must
be actively participating on the subject team as of December 31 of the current
playing season unless injury or illness prevents such participation in which case
medical documentation of the illness or injury must be provided. Failure to provide
documentation shall result in loss of team’s playoff eligibility.
c. A team that falls below its Player Development Requirement minimum because of
player movement to the Tier I or Junior level within the same age division, shall not
render that team ineligible for playoffs because of the Player Development
Requirement.
d. The minimum CAHA Player Development Requirement per team is as follows:
12 player roster =
3 player minimum
13 player roster =
3 player minimum
14 player roster =
4 player minimum
15 player roster =
4 player minimum
16 player roster =
4 player minimum
17 player roster =
4 player minimum
18 player roster =
5 player minimum
19 player roster =
5 player minimum
20 player roster =
5 player minimum
Age
AAA
AA
A
18U
-
-
-
16U
25%
25%
25%
15
25%
N/A
N/A
14U
25%
25%
25%
12U
25%
25%
25%
10U
-
-
-
8U
-
-
-
e. Players eligible to meet the Player Development Requirement are defined as:
1. Players who actively participated on teams within the same Member Association
the previous season, as shown by USA Hockey registration.
2. In the case of Tier II teams, players must have been rostered on a Tier I, Tier II,
A or B team with the Member Association during the prior year and must have
participated in the minimum number of games required to be eligible for CAHA
state playoffs except where injury or illness prevented such participation (proof of
illness or injury is required).
3. In the case of A teams, house players may not count toward the Player
Development Requirement if they were also rostered on a Tier I, Tier II, A or B
team with another Member Association during the same season.
4. Players who are new to travel ice hockey may be counted as PDR for “A" teams.
These players cannot have previously played for any other travel ice hockey club
in California.
5. A consolidated team may meet its PDR requirement using players from the same
team the previous season plus players from A or B teams on any of the team’s
forming Member Associations during the previous season.
RECRUITMENT: (**Effective Immediately**)
a. No Youth or Girls Tier I teams may recruit or solicit players or offer contracts to
players for the following season or hold development camps, tryouts, player
selections or any activity that could be construed as a tryout/solicitation or
recruitment for the following season, until 48 hours after the last game of Youth
National Championships (both Tier I and Tier II Nationals must be completed). (i.e.: if
National Tournament ends at 4 pm on Monday, tryouts can begin after 4 pm on
Wednesday). No recruiting permitted in season.
b. No Youth or Girls Tier II or A/B teams may offer contracts to players for the following
season or hold development camps, tryouts, player selections or any activity that
could be construed as a tryout for the following season, until 48 hours after the last
game of Youth National Championships (both Tier I and Tier II Nationals must be
completed). (i.e.: if National Tournament ends at 4 pm on Monday, tryouts can begin
after 4 pm on Wednesday). No recruiting permitted in season and out of season.
c. Recruitment is defined as the open solicitation and/or direct contact by coaches,
team officials, association officials, parents or players, by mail, email, and/or
telephone, of players currently registered with another association.
d. CAHA prohibits any one from offering or providing financial incentives to any player
or any player's family as an inducement to join any team that is not offered to all
players or player's families.
e. Permitted activities include the following:
1. Contacting players who played on teams within your own club in the prior
playing season.
2. Transmitting material to persons who have requested them within the past six(6) months or who had participated in a program in the most recent summer.
Such transmissions may not include personalized notes or messages.
3. Mass marketing for spring teams, specialty teams, clinics, summer teams, and
summer skates is allowed. Such transmissions may not include personalized
notes or messages.
f.
Any violations of the recruitment rules will result in supplementary discipline
which may include suspensions, sanctions and/or fines.
ELIGIBILITY FOR STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: CAHA shall establish the terms that an
association must achieve in order to field state championship eligible Tier II teams.
a. Member Associations fielding Tier II teams shall maintain a minimum of three (3)
teams at the A, BB or B level in the current and previous season, not including High
School. Only one (1) 8U team with a minimum roster of 10 players shall count
towards a club’s feeder requirement.
b. Each Tier II team must play each other team in their league at the same age division.
a. Clubs may only field two (2) Tier II youth teams at each age division and must follow
existing standards and rules regarding feeder programs.
TEAM MOVEMENT: Tier II teams have until September 15 of the current playing
season to move up to Tier I playing status, with CAHA board approval, thereby vacating
their Tier II status. Any Tier II team that desires to drop back to the A classification must
obtain approval of the Youth Council by September 15. Nothing in this rule shall require
a league to allow a Tier II team that drops the ability to participate in the league playing
schedule.
TEAM MOVEMENT: Any Tier I team that desires to drop down to Tier II classification
must obtain approval from Youth Council by September 15